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| State vs. Victor Kelly
01C01-9709-CC-00429
Originating Judge:Henry Denmark Bell |
Williamson County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 01/19/99 | |
| State vs. Ricky D. Keen
01C01-9802-CR-00074
|
Sumner County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 01/19/99 | |
| Gerald Dewayne Sharp v. Sharp Transport, Inc.
01S01-9802-CH-00030
This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. section 5-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting of findings of fact and conclusions of law. Fairly stated, the issue is whether the employee's increased permanent medical impairment was causally related to an injury occurring in October, 1994. As discussed below, the panel has concluded the judgment should be affirmed. The action was initiated by the employee or claimant, Gerald DeWayne Sharp, to recover workers' compensation benefits for an injury alleged to have occurred on October 19, 1994. After a trial on the merits on January 16, 1998, the trial judge found that the claimant had "failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the October, 1994, on-the-job incident bore any causal relationship to the back surgery performed on the plaintiff in June, 1995" and "that the preponderance of the evidence establishes that the plaintiff's back condition, including the June, 1995 surgery, are all the result of a prior back injury occurring in 199, and are not the result of the on-the-job incident of October, 1994." Accordingly, the claim was disallowed. Appellate review is de novo upon the record of the trial court, accompanied by a presumption of correctness of the findings of fact, unless the preponderance of the evidence is otherwise. Tenn. Code Ann. section 5-6-225(e)(2). In April of 199, while working for a different employer, the claimant fell from a loading dock and injured his back. Corrective disc surgery was performed by Doctor Wilburn, who continued to follow the progress of his recovery. The pain from the injury persisted and, in January of 1991, the pain became sharper and radiated into the lower right leg. X-rays in June of the same year revealed narrowing and degenerative changes at the surgical site. Dr. Wilburn diagnosed post laminectomy syndrome with nerve root irritation and in December, 1991, the doctor assigned an impairment rating of fifteen percent to the body from the injury and consequent surgery. On December 2, 1991, he was awarded permanent partial disability benefits based on thirty-two percent to the body as a whole and lifetime medical benefits. In October of 1992, the claimant began working for the present employer, Sharp Transport, Inc. Sixteen months later, he advised Dr. Wilburn that he had experienced intermittent symptoms since the 199 surgery and fairly constant low backache as well as sharp pain in the right hip and cramping in the right calf. Dr. Wilburn advised him not to drive a truck. In September of 1994, the claimant related to the doctor increasing pain over the past couple of weeks in his low back and hip, as well as behind his right knee and into his right calf. Medical treatment was provided by the previous employer's insurer. An MRI revealed arthritis in the area of the earlier surgery and broad based disc protrusion. Dr. Wilburn attributed the changes to the 199 surgery and noted the claimant may have aggravated his back on October 19, 1994, but that he did not have a new injury. In June of 1995, additional surgery was performed to relieve recurrent pain from the earlier injury. Again the former employer's insurer paid the medical expenses upon receipt of the surgeon's 2
Authoring Judge: Joe C. Loser, Jr., Special Judge
Originating Judge:Hon. Robert L. Jones, |
Wayne County | Workers Compensation Panel | 01/19/99 | |
| Valerie Parham v. Conwood Company, L.P.
01S01-9804-CV-00069
This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. section 5-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The employee or claimant, Parham, argues that the evidence preponderates against the trial court's finding that she did not suffer a compensable permanent injury. The employee initiated this action for benefits for claimed carpal tunnel syndrome. After a trial on the merits, the trial judge dismissed the claim upon a finding that she did not suffer a compensable injury. Appellate review is de novo upon the record of the trial court, accompanied by a presumption of correctness of the findings of fact, unless the preponderance of the evidence is otherwise. Tenn. Code Ann. section 5-6-225(e)(2); Henson v. City of Lawrenceburg, 851 S.W.2d 89 (Tenn. 1993). The claimant's duties at Conwood included monitoring a small conveyor carrying loose tobacco used in producing chewing tobacco and removing stems and foreign material from loose tobacco. Although the work does involve continuously watching the material pass by on the conveyor, it does not involve continuous or repetitive use of the hands. The majority of the stems are removed in an earlier process. The claimant has seen a number of physicians. Dr. Douglas Weikert treated her for complaints of pain in both hands, but opined she did not have carpal tunnel syndrome or any permanent medical impairment. The doctor was equivocal as to whether her pain was causally connected to her employment. Dr. Stephen Pratt diagnosed mild tendonitis but prescribed no restrictions and found no permanent medical impairment. She saw two or three other approved physicians, who did not testify. The claimant also saw three nonapproved physicians. One of them performed carpal tunnel release surgery. Another, Dr. Richard Fishbein, who evaluated but did not treat her, testified he would not have recommended the surgery. Dr. Fishbein, being under the impression that the claimant engaged in repetitive use of her hands at work, opined her injury was work related, as did the operating surgeon,Dr. McCluskey, whose testimony was, at best, equivocal. The trial judge, after evaluating the credibility of the claimant and studying the conflicting medical evidence, found the medical testimony of Drs. Weikert and Pratt to be more reliable. The trial judge, as the trier of fact in workers' compensation cases, has the discretion to determine which expert testimony to accept or reject. Moreover where the trial judge has seen and heard witnesses, especially where issues of credibility and weight of oral testimony are involved, considerable deference must be accorded the trial court's actual findings. Hill v. Eagle Bend Mfg., Inc., 942 S.W.2d 483, 487 (Tenn. 1997). The party claiming the benefits of the Act has the burden of proof to establish his claim by a preponderance of all the evidence. An award may not be based on conjecture; it must be based on material evidence and the rules of 2
Authoring Judge: Joe C. Loser, Jr., Special Judge
Originating Judge:Hon. James E. Walton, |
Robertson County | Workers Compensation Panel | 01/19/99 | |
| State vs. Michael Robinson
01C01-9612-CC-00536
|
Rutherford County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 01/19/99 | |
| State vs. Steve Paige
W2001-03045-CCA-R3-CD
In an indictment returned by the Shelby County Grand Jury on August 9, 2001, Defendant, Steve Paige, was charged with two counts of aggravated assault. The indictment alleged that both offenses occurred on January 16, 1999. At a hearing on December 6, 2001, the criminal court, sua sponte, dismissed the indictment because of the State's failure to prosecute. In its order of dismissal, the criminal court found that Defendant was arrested on January 16, 1999, the case was bound over to the grand jury on May 25, 1999, but he was not indicted until twenty-seven months later. The trial court further found that Defendant was arraigned on November 13, 2001, but the State did not have a file on the case and it had to be continued twice for that reason. When the case was called on December 6, 2001, the State could still not produce a file on the case. Accordingly, the trial court dismissed the case with prejudice for the State's failure to prosecute pursuant to Rule 48(b) of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure. The State appealed. After review, we affirm the trial court's order dismissing the case, but reverse that portion of the order dismissing the case with prejudice, and remand this case for the trial court to enter an amended order dismissing the case without prejudice.
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Originating Judge:James C. Beasley, Jr. |
Shelby County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 01/16/99 | |
| Greg Morgan vs. State
03C01-9611-CR-00404
Originating Judge:Mayo L. Mashburn |
Bradley County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 01/15/99 | |
| Reba Rector v. Dacco
01S01-9804-CV-00083
Authoring Judge: William H. Inman, Senior Judge
Originating Judge:Hon. John Maddux, |
Putnam County | Workers Compensation Panel | 01/15/99 | |
| Gary Harris vs. State
03C01-9803-CR-00085
Originating Judge:Lynn W. Brown |
Unicoi County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 01/15/99 | |
| State vs. Wembley
03C01-9803-CC-00088
|
Blount County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 01/15/99 | |
| Dennis/Cheryl Caire vs. McLemore Food Stores
02A01-9804-CV-00103
Originating Judge:Robert A. Lanier |
Shelby County | Court of Appeals | 01/15/99 | |
| State vs. Holloway
03C01-9712-CC-00533
Originating Judge:W. Lee Asbury |
Anderson County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 01/15/99 | |
| State vs. Strickland
03C01-9801-CC-00556
|
Blount County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 01/15/99 | |
| Alexander vs Armentrout, Jr.
03A01-9807-CV-00205
|
Washington County | Court of Appeals | 01/14/99 | |
| Hampton vs. TN Truck Sales
01A01-9712-CH-00721
Originating Judge:Irvin H. Kilcrease, Jr. |
Davidson County | Court of Appeals | 01/14/99 | |
| Spruce vs Spruce
03A01-9807-CV-00211
|
Knox County | Court of Appeals | 01/14/99 | |
| Brooks vs Brooks, Jr.
03A01-9801-CH-00008
|
Court of Appeals | 01/14/99 | ||
| Edmondson vs. Solomon
01A01-9802-CV-00097
Originating Judge:Walter C. Kurtz |
Davidson County | Court of Appeals | 01/14/99 | |
| Clark & Associates Architects, Inc. vs. Lewis
01A01-9802-CH-00088
Originating Judge:Carol A. Catalano |
Montgomery County | Court of Appeals | 01/14/99 | |
| Sara Evelyn Evans (Young) v. Bobby Hugh Young, D.K. Hailey Wrecking Company, Inc. and Levy Industrial Contractors, Inc.
01A01-9711-CV-00638
Intervenors D. K. Hailey WreckingCompany (Hailey Wrecking) and Levy Industrial Contractors, Inc. (Levy Industrial) appeal an order of the trial court requiring them to pay the attorney fees of Plaintiff Sara Evelyn Evans incurred in a proceeding to enforce a judgment obtained by Ms. Evans against Bobby Hugh Young. For the reasons stated below, we affirm the ruling of the trial court.
Authoring Judge: Judge David R. Farmer
Originating Judge:Judge Muriel Robinson |
Davidson County | Court of Appeals | 01/14/99 | |
| Palmer vs. So. Central Correctional Facility Disciplinary Bd.
M1999-01611-COA-R3-CV
Petitioner, an incarcerated prisoner at South Central Correctional Facility, appeals the dismissal by the trial court of his petition for a writ of certiorari to review a disciplinary decision made by the Correctional Facility Disciplinary Board and approved by the Tennessee Department of Correction ("T.D.O.C."). The defendant filed a Rule 12.02(6), Tenn. R. Civ. P., motion asserting the failure of Petitioner to state a claim for which relief may be granted. The trial court sustained this motion to dismiss. We reverse.
Authoring Judge: Judge William B. Cain
Originating Judge:Robert L. Holloway |
Wayne County | Court of Appeals | 01/13/99 | |
| State vs. Aaron Carroll
02C01-9805-CR-00140
Originating Judge:Bernie Weinman |
Shelby County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 01/13/99 | |
| State vs. Connie Wilson
02C01-9706-CC-00217
|
Madison County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 01/13/99 | |
| R & E Properties vs Jones
03A01-9804-CV-00133
|
Court of Appeals | 01/13/99 | ||
| State vs. Roy Keough
02C01-9708-CR-00317
|
Shelby County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 01/13/99 |